Voting on protocols to holding bishops accountable was abruptly taken off the table by order of the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops

The Catholic Bishops of the United States have unveiled a series of standards of episcopal accountability for bishops but at the behest of a Vatican request postponed voting on several proposals to address abuse.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Nov. 12-14 gathering for the 2018 Fall General Assembly in Baltimore is being scrutinized by critics for its perceived cover-up of clergy sex abuse.

One of the main items of meeting's agenda -- voting on protocols to holding bishops accountable and how they manage abuse cases -- was abruptly taken off the table by order of the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops.

The Vatican had announced Nov. 12 that bishops delay approval of any elements of their proposals to strengthen the USCCB's policies on clergy sex abuse until they can be reviewed for their conformity to canon law and until after the February meeting at the Vatican for presidents of bishops' conferences worldwide.

There are seven standards, which deal with:

diocesan and eparchial codes of conduct;

protection of children and young people;

sexual misconduct with an adult by a bishop;

sexual harassment of an adult by a bishop;

responding to allegations of sexual abuse of minors, or of sexual misconduct with or harassment of adults by priests or deacons;

reporting and resolving complaints against bishops;

further commitments to ensure integrity.

The standards also call for bishops to engage in regular periodic training in the best practices of management and human resources.

When the standards do come up for a vote, they would require a yes vote from two-thirds of the conference members, reports Catholic News Service.

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